[PRCo] 4th of July

[Harold Geissenheimer]

Greetings

Independence Day/the 4th of July is a good day to be proud as an
American.

Yesterday I was reading the Post Gazette site and found a schedule of
4th of
July fireworks.  This reminded me of my first 4th in the Pgh area back
in 1950.  I arrived from New York in Feb and was living in Dormont.

Lets begin that Dormont was one of many streetcar boroughs.  Dormont
was served by the 38 on West Liberty Ave and the 42 on Broadway.  There
were several dozen streetcar boroughs in Alleghency County.  Some like
Crafton also had commuter PRR trains.  Some like Carnegie also had
mills.
Dormont was a pure streetcar borough.  No Commuter trains or mills.

Fireworks then were very local.  There was no Point Park.  Dormont's
fire works were at the high school football field and came after a day
at the
neaby pool and a picnic in the park.  Coming from NYC, it was a new
experience for me.  Residents can still watch the fireworks at the
field.

(Editor-This year Kenosha PCC's will serve the fireworks at the Lake.
Another streetcar celebration.)

Dormont itself was a neat place in a Pittsburgh some place special.

The borough was small.  You could walk every where.  The high school
was in walking distance.  No school buses.  No merger with adjacent
communities.  And it was a good high school.  Most kids went to
college.  Some kids went home for lunch.  (Later in my life I worked
for Community Transit in Tarentum and found a similar situation and an
excellent school)

I lived on Glenmore between the 42 and 38 lines.  In the morning I
walked
down to the 38, in the afternoon, I walked down from the 42.  Never
uphill.
Both lines still used high speed yellow cars as well as PCC's.  The
yellow
cars were dirty and rusty.  Not really the kind of cars needed to serve
downtown white collar workers.  The fare then was 3/25 tokens.  (The 42
is now the route of  PAT's LRT.)  Bigi buses from Bridgeville via Bower
Hill or Cedar Blvd made the same stops on West Liberty (Now PAT 41-B &
C).
The Bigi bus was an inexpensive Fitzjohn but it was clean, nicely
painted
and driven by a polite driver, often a Bigi family member or neighbor.
People
often would just take the first to arrive but it should be noted that
some
preferred Bigi and passed up the streetcar unless it was a PCC.  Also
some
resented the many Pgh Rys strikes and lack of service.  If you were
going
to Oakland, you rode the streetcar with a special transfer.

Dormont itself was a neat compact community.   Near Potomac & West
West Liberty there were two movies, the borough bldg, the library, an
Isalys,
a Sear's store, a masonic lodge, several churches, many stores and
restaurants
and even a few bars. (an later, an Eat'n'park).  All within walking
distance of
every one.  Dormont could be the model for DOT-FTA's new transit
village.
Other borough's were equally vibrant.  They owed their existance to the
streetcar and served their residents. well.

The 50's under Ike were a steady period.  I actually grew up in Dormont.

It was a good part of my life and I enjoyed it.

Just wanted to share this with you.  The fireworks were excellent and
the
concept of a streetcar borough worked well.

Happy Independence Day.

Harold Geissenheimer